Police make arrest after Burlington drive-by shooting

Burlington police investigate the scene of a drive-by shooting at an apartment building off Hyde Street Wednesday night. No one was injured, but bullets struck several apartments with people inside, including small children. (Photo11: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

Quincy Alexander, 28, of Brooklyn made an initial appearance and was assigned a federal public defender, but he was not arraigned and entered no plea. An arraignment is set for Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney's Office is seeking to keep Alexander in custody until his trial. He is jailed at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.

Barclay Johnson, Alexander's public defender, declined comment following the brief hearing in Burlington.

Alexander, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, was arrested on charges of illegal possession of two handguns and having 80 grams of crack cocaine, according to court records. Burlington police made the arrest after finding a car in a Burlington parking garage that matched the description of the red SUV that witnesses reported at the scene of the shooting.

Burlington officers spotted the car in the Macy's parking garage downtown early Thursday afternoon, according to a sworn statement filed by Matthew Ekstrom, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. When officers approached the car, they found Alexander inside and reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana.

Police obtained a search warrant for the car, which had out-of-state plates, and officers discovered the drugs and the weapons, according to court papers. The car had been rented for Alexander in New York City by a woman whom Alexander identified as his girlfriend so that he could travel to Burlington, Ekstrom wrote in his affidavit.

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Burlington police investigators measure a bullet hole in the front door of an apartment off Hyde Street Wednesday night after someone fired several shots from the street into the building. No one was hurt in the incident, but one bullet entered into an apartment with small children inside. (Photo11: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)

Officers took Alexander to the University of Vermont Medical Center after he complained of chest pains following his arrest. At the hospital, he ran out of the examination room and was stopped at the main door of the Emergency Department by Detective Dwyane Mellis of the Burlington Police Department, according to court documents.

Alexander is facing federal charges because under the Brady Bill, his criminal record disqualified him from owning a handgun. He had two prior felony convictions for grand larceny, prosecutors said, and had been sentenced to one to three years in prison.

The caliber of one of the handguns matched the caliber of the bullets found at 31 Hyde St., where multiple gunshots were fired Wednesday evening.

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Police responded to reports of several gun shots fired at an apartment building on Hyde Street in Burlington Wednesday night. Several bullets hit the building, one bullet entering through the front door of a unit with small children inside.
RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

No one was injured, but one bullet went through the door of an apartment, Chief Brandon del Pozo said. The apartment was occupied by a family with a 5-year-old and a 7-month-old child.

If convicted, Alexander faces up to 10 years in prison for possessing a firearm as a felon and up to 20 years for possession with intent to distribute of crack cocaine.

The Burlington police investigation has revealed that Alexander was present at an altercation last December outside Zen Lounge on Church Street that led to a fatal shooting, del Pozo said. A suspect has pleaded not guilty to murder. Alexander faces no charges in connection with the incident.